A professional carpenter with a formal education in painting from OCAD, Toronto photographer Ian Busher experiments with colour, form and texture to create imaginative, abstract images from scenes of decay.

Harnessing his skill as a craftsman, he uses epoxy resin to give his work an enticing textural quality. He is often complimented on the impeccable (some would say immaculate) quality of his finishes.

The Tintype Studio revisits a historical photographic tradition to create a unique image on a metal surface. They revive this process in its traditional context, the outdoor fair, by offering a fun, participatory, and retro take on the instant photograph. Their tintype portrait service and period-style booth give the public a chance to experience a chapter in the history of photography.

In this Life After Digital talk, perhaps more properly referred to as Life Way Before Digital, members of The Tintype Studio describe their modern-day traveling art practice and the process through which their work is created.

Life After Digital Artist Talk SeriesNaninoo and the Mystifying Cuccubarro by Kathleen Finlay and Giovanni Pittalis

Kathleen Finlay is a Toronto-based commercial photographer who crosses the genres of fine art, editorial, corporate and advertising imaging. Kathleen and Italian-born multimedia artist Giovanni Pittalis spoke on June 19th, 2013 as part of the Life After Digital series about their work on a Children's book titled Naninoo and the Mystifying Cuccubarro. Finlay's collaboration with Pittalis, whose work as an illustrator, stylist and art director includes time with Jim Henson Productions, gave birth to richly colored, unique characters and elaborate dioramas that will engage young readers’ minds.

This interactive talk will reveal behind-the-scenes details about the production of these intricate, sculpture-based images, and feature some of the physical pieces involved.

Here's a short promo video I shot and cut in May 2013 for photographer Diana Renelli on her CONTACT Photography Festival 2013 exhibition.

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Rearview

Diana Renelli likes to play with reflection, which results in images that are by turns dreamlike, striking, eerie, and evocative. She is drawn toward the layering of shadows found on glass, and she creates intriguing images by photographing ordinary objects through this transitional barrier.

~ Diana Renelli 2013

USA Road Trip 2013

2686 kilometres in 2 minutes and 57 seconds.

I traveled with a friend back in January 2013 from New Orleans to Washington D.C. This video is meant to be a flashback of the sights and sounds we encountered during the 11 days we were on the road. It contains over 500 images shot with the Fuji X100, Nikon D800 and iPhone.

~ Louis Au 2013

The Master Printer

'The Master Printer' is part of this year's CONTACT Photography Festival in Toronto by f11project. This slideshow will be shown during the opening reception of the exhibit on May 8th at The Rivoli Lounge.

This series of photographs documents the craft of centuries-old tradition of hand printing at Taller Martin Pescador in Tacámbaro, Michoacán. A master Mexican printer, founder Juan Pascoe creates his books on a R. Hoe Washington handpress dated back to 1835. Each piece of type is hand set, each page is inked, laboriously printed by hand and hand sewn together. In stark contrast to today’s computer-based typography and printing, this old tradition has become a lost art.